Classic Detective

Hadleyburg is a decent American town where all the people are honest, selfless and honorable. At least, that is how they see themselves. One day a stranger arrives in town and somehow the locals manage to offend him so badly that he is determined to get his revenge on them by exposing their true nature, which according to him is far from "incorruptible". How will he tempt the people that are so well trained to avoid temptation? Are they really as honest as they claim to be? B. J.

Hungary during the Ottoman wars: Turks attack Buda and set up a siege of Eger. Gergely Bornemissza is a poor half-orphan who is about to become a national hero. "Eclipse of the Crescent Moon" follows Gergelys life from the age of eight until his early thirties. His life is a vivid combination of poverty, love, battles and dangers. He is on the front line when the Turks capture Buda and later when they approach Eger. His country is in danger and so is his family. The battle is one of life or death.

Fortress-walled Saint Catherine's monastery on the Sinai Peninsula (Egypt) has been a pilgrimage site since its founding by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in the 6th century. According to tradition, the monastery sits at the base of the mountain where Moses received the Tablets of the Law. Set in rugged country, it was for a very long time only accessible through a long camel-back journey across the barren desert.

"Parnassus on Wheels" (1917) was Christopher Morley’s first published novel. It tells the story of Roger Mifflin, who sells his travelling book business to 39-year-old Helen McGill. The latter is tired of taking care of her ailing older brother Andrew, a businessman, farmer, and author. The novel is told from the perspective of Mrs McGill and was in part inspired by David Grayson’s novel "The Friendly Road." Morley wrote a sequel to this story called "The Haunted Bookshop.

In the Welsh borders, isolated by heavy snow and flooding from the thaw, cut off from telephone access, a tragedy has occurred. Old Dr Robinson known to be 'a menace' on the roads has met his end in a car crash, his big saloon thrown from the track down the steep hillside. But when the police arrive there is more to the tragedy than meets the eye: why was there a second body - an outsider to these parts - in the back of the vehicle?

Sarah has been receiving threatening anonymous letters seemingly from a former lover. Just one day after revealing this information to her co-worker Nancy, Sarah is shot and found in her bedroom by one of her past flames, Donald. Desperate to clear any evidence of Donald's presence at the scene for her own infatuations, Nancy finds herself as the key suspect when she is discovered in the apartment. As the real killer uses the situation to their advantage, Bennett crafts a tense and nuanced story through flashbacks to Sarah's life and loves.

Wealthy widow Mrs. Harlowe has died at her house in Dijon, apparently of natural causes. But then her brother-in-law accuses her niece Betty of poisoning the old woman; Jim Frobisher, junior partner in the office of Betty’s English solicitors, is dispatched to France to provide legal advice and support. In France, as Jim seeks to discover the truth and clear Betty, he enters into an uneasy alliance with the enigmatic and mercurial Sûreté detective, Inspector Hanaud.

The great detective, Sherlock Holmes, is dying from a highly contagious tropical disease called Tapanuli fever. Dr. Watson is shocked when he hears about his friend’s illness. He travels to examine him, but Holmes refuses his help. Instead, a man called Culverton Smith arrives after being called by Watson. He is not a professional doctor but knows more about the disease than anyone else.

As a rousing Strauss piece is reaching its crescendo in Maningpool Civic Hall, the talented yet obnoxious conductor Sir Noel Grampian is shot dead in full view of the Municipal Orchestra and the audience. It was no secret that he had many enemies - musicians and music critics among them - but to be killed mid-flow suggests an act of the coldest calculation. Told through the letters and documents sent by DI Alan Hope to his wife as he puzzles through the dauntingly vast pool of suspects and scant physical evidence in the case.

En Inglaterra, a fines del siglo XIX, Tras la misteriosa desaparición de su padre, Mary empieza a recibir valiosas perlas de un remitente desconocido. Después de un prolongado silencio, el generoso personaje da señales de vida y quiere que Mary se reúna con él. La joven pide ayuda a Sherlock Holmes para que la acompañe. El desconocido resulta ser Thaddeus Sholto, hijo de un buen amigo del padre de Mary. Thaddeus y su hermano han estado buscando, durante seis años, un gran tesoro que su padre escondió antes de morir.

A collection of 31 tales of mystery and murder from the career of the great scientific detective, Dr John Thorndyke. Including every story from John Thorndyke's Cases (1909), The Adventures of Dr Thorndyke (1912), Percival Bland's Proxy (1913), The Missing Mortgagee (1914), Dr Thorndyke's Case-book (1923), and The Puzzle Lock and Other Stories (1925)

Alvin Benson is found slumped over an easy chair in a room locked from the inside with a bullet in his head, and Wall Street and the high society of Manhattan are set ablaze with the news of the playboy stockbroker’s death. But when NYPD’s top detectives and ballistics experts can’t solve the mystery, it falls to Philo Vance, an art connoisseur and amateur sleuth, to find the killer. Vance’s intellectual and artistic background helps him uncover a series of odd clues, starting with a missing toupee and false teeth, and soon he is delving deep into the case.

William Hope Hodgson was born in Essex, England, on November 15th, 1877. Over his short career he produced a large body of work which explored and covered many genres. From horror, to science fiction, to stories on the sea, where he had spent much of his early life. One of his most memorable creations was his Carnacki, Supernatural Detective creation. This fused together his passion for sleuthing and interest in the Occult. It was a memorable success.

This short story features Baroness Orczy’s most intriguing sleuth, 'The Old Man in the Corner', as he explains how he solved a high-profile case: the theft of an actress' pearls.

A short story from the British Library Crime Classic collection Final Acts. This unusual tale by Roy Vickers follows Scotland Yard as they investigate the mysterious death of the wife of a famous clown.

A short story from the British Library Crime Classic collection Final Acts. Actor, journalist and writer Ernest Dudley’s BBC Radio detective Doctor Morelle is in the process of developing a cure for the common cold when he is approached by ventriloquist Voxio, whose doll has been stolen.

A short story from the British Library Crime Classic collection Final Acts. Detective novelist Dorothy L. Sayers presents a look at morality and motive as playwright John Scales grows angrier and more resentful towards the actor who reinvented his script, and must decide how far he will allow his hatred to take him.

A short story from the British Library Crime Classic collection Final Acts. The third act of a play is cut short by the death of an actor onstage. Inspector Bristow must delve into the man's past and relationships with his colleagues to solve the mystery.

A short story from the British Library Crime Classic collection Final Acts. The strange new owner of a run-down theatre tells the tale of how a man was killed on its stage many years ago, in full view of an audience, and why the murder was never solved despite the many witnesses.

A short story from the British Library Crime Classic collection Final Acts. The Great Detective recounts the tale of an old case to Inspector Cockrill, which, solved too late, failed to bring about a conviction. But Cockrill draws his own conclusions on the case.